By Bob Orkand and Lyman Duryea
Hard Cover, 251 Pages Price: $29.95 + $5.09 Shipping
Available from: globepequot.com
1-800-223-2336
This is the story of the infamous debacle of the M16’s debut in Viet Nam.
The story of the jams and malfunctions that got many American servicemen killed. The authors are both officers who were involved with the M16 in Viet Nam, indeed the first man killed in one of the author’s units was a man who fired one shot at a group of Viet Cong only to have the weapon immediately jam and the Viet Cong killing him as he was now defenseless.
The M16 was rushed into service with the first troops having no proper training with their new wonder weapon. There were no cleaning kits and instead of the propellent powder the gun was designed to use the ammunition was loaded with a type incompatible with the design. Ordnance would like you to believe that all the gun’s problems were related to fouling and corrosion but I personally remember these first M16s jamming even when in perfect condition and freshly cleaned and oiled.
Years after the M16A1 had supposedly cured all the problems, I asked Colonel George Chinn, the author of the 4-volume book, THE MACHINEGUN, detailing all the different mechanisms used in the world’s machinegun designs, what he thought of the M16. The man regarded as the best expert in the U.S. Military on all the different machineguns gave a reply that was loud and emphatic. “Jim, ANYBODY can build a better gun than the M16!”
This book delves into the politics that led to the adoption of the M16. The design history and development of the M16 are detailed along with the men associated with every stage of it. The many changes to the design to make it work better are listed, something rarely seen in print.
Sometimes the firing pin would fire the cartridge before the bolt had locked shut resulting in what Ordnance terms “Catastrophic damage.” The small arms weapons tests are detailed along with the deficiencies they uncovered.
The abysmal failure of the early rifles in Viet Nam and the men killed when their guns would not work show a crime of unspeakable proportions inflicted on American soldiers. Murders for which no one was ever punished.
The word needs to get out more on this and MISSFIRE does a good job. It is something every American should read.—Jim Dickson
